Norwegian Progressive rock act Ulver has set "Critical Geography" as the title of its next album, due out in stores sometime in mid-2011. More information will be made available soon. Ulver's latest album, "Shadows of the Sun," was released in 2007 through The End Records.

German folk metallers Neun Welten have issued the following update about contributing a song to an upcoming compilation album:

"Here are the good news and further information of the next release: Our new song 'Pan' will be featured on the very beautiful piece of music and art 'Whom the moon a nightsong sings' together with a lot of other fantastic artists. This compilation will be released on 29th of October 2010 as a 2CD-Digibook and also on vinyl (2LP). But it's possible to pre-order it here (CD) and here (vinyl), or just have a look for further information."

A live video clip of Ulver's performance at the Norwegian Festival of Literature on May 30th has been posted online. The show was Ulver's first live performance in 15 years. The video can be viewed below. More...

Portugal's AVA INFERI is currently looking for a sixth band member on keyboards. AVA INFERI has issued the following statement regarding their search:

"We are now searching for a piano/keyboard player to fulfill and broaden our soundscape, both live and on record. As many of our earlier songs have piano parts as well, we thought it was time to bring this element out to its fullest. Criteria: you must be a creative and hardworking musician with your own gear, have availability for touring at any time and also to rehearse several days a week. Live experience is also positive. So if you think you have what it takes and you are based in reasonable distance to Almada, Portugal, drop us a mail at ava.inferi@yahoo.com." More...

Experimental metal band Ulver has issued the following statement about playing at the upcoming Norwegian Festival of Literature:

"The Norwegian Festival of Literature proudly presents: ULVER LIVE AT MAIHAUGSALEN, LILLEHAMMER, SATURDAY MAY 30 2009

"Once amongst the pioneers of Norwegian black metal, now living legends of dark experimental music, ULVER are today one of Norway's most acclaimed international artists. While remaining something of a secret treasure back home, a long series of strong releases, most recently the album Shadows of the Sun (2007), has earned them a unique status worldwide.

"ULVER have since their first album been exclusively a studio band. This being their first live performance in 15 years, the concert at Lillehammer is a historic event. More...

Portugese doom metal band Ava Inferi has announced plans for their upcoming full-length album. They have announced that out of their efforts "came nine powerful and sad hymns, all showcasing Ava Inferi's refusal to stagnate and go the easy and throdden path of repetition." The final mixes are not completed, but will be sometime in January in Norway. The band states that many "dramatic events" happened during the recording of the album, and that it is "more metal" than the previous two albums. "But despair not, there are enough tristesse and serenity to provole the most saddened thoughts on here as well. We are not changing, [we are] merely evolving!" Guests on the album include the following: Kristoffer Rygg of Ulver, Live Kostol of Pantheon I, Fredrik Soderlind of Puissence, and "the amazing piano talent Arne Martinussen." The tracklist will be revealed "when the fog has lifted."

The band would like to apologize for the cancellation of their appearance at the Algarve Chamas VII Festival which takes place on January 30th, due to their mixing schedule. Ava Inferi hopes for a re-scheduled show later in the year.

AVA INFERI, who will enter the studio in November to begin recording third album "Blood of Bacchus," has announced a special guest on the effort. Commented Rune Eriksen: "I'd like to announce that our forthcoming album, 'Blood of Bacchus', will have ULVER mainman Kristoffer Rygg as a special guest on one of the tracks. We are very happy to announce this collaboration and utterly confident about the final outcome!"

In other news, AVA INFERI has been confirmed as this year's headliner of the annual Fest Biqueira d'Aço, which will take place on Saturday, October 4th, in Vilar/Cadaval, Portugal. "This will serve as a perfect kick-off to our Scandinavian tour starting October 8th in Tampere, Finland, and also as a try-out for some of our new material", Rune adds.

Bazillion Points Publishing has announced the first definitive book on the elusive world of progressive metal, written by esteemed metal crusader and prog manic and THE END RECORDS staff member Jeff Wagner. Scheduled for release in Autumn 2009, the book will detail the common movements of pioneers like OPETH, WATCHTOWER, VOIVOD, ATHEIST, DREAM THEATER, PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, CELTIC FROST, SIGH, and FATES WARNING — metal bands who have gone against the tide of tradition and conservatism. Linked by a desire to push heavy metal forward, these varied bands with a couple hundred other black sheep form the hard-to-pin-down category of "progressive metal."

Beginning with the hugely influential mid-1970s efforts of Canadian band RUSH, Wagner's book explores the shared lineage of prog rock and metal. He unfurls the huge tapestry and examines the sounds and styles created during the genre's 40-year history, including: the "Big Three" — QUEENSRŸCHE, FATES WARNING, and DREAM THEATER; extreme prog pioneers VOIVOD and CELTIC FROST; Norway's post-black metal avant garde (ULVER, ARCTURUS, VED BUENS ENDE, BEYOND DAWN, etc.); and of course the huge global movement of Big Three-worshippers in the 1990s and the leaders that emerged (AYREON, SYMPHONY X, etc.). The vastness of what can be considered "progressive metal" has proven to be one of the most viable, malleable forms in all of modern music. More...

ULVER has posted a cover version of PRINCE's "Thieves in the Temple" on their official MySpace page."Thieves in the Temple" was originally released on Prince's 1990 "Graffiti Bridge" album, with the song hitting 6 on the US charts.

For the cover, ULVER collaborated with female soul singer and WYCLEF JEAN protégée, SIRI STRANGER. The boys downplay their own participation, and relation to Prince, with the following statement: "Prince is not our familiar, but we appreciate his spirituality and sensibility, manifest in this song. We are thieves in his temple."

Their song is part of a massive 81-track, 5-CD tribute titled, "Shockadelica: 50th Anniversary Tribute To The Artist Known As Prince" (C+C Records)

Info on the label website about the release reads: "An overwhelming compilation by the finest Norwegian artists doing their all-time favourite Prince songs. Shockadelica is a genre-breaking compilation where all musical categories are represented. We have gathered Norway's finest jazz musicians, heavy metalists, pop, electro, rock, country, blues, gospel choirs, Norway's most famous boy choir, avantgarde, soul, funk, jazz-rock, noise, humourists, singer/songwriters, hiphop-producers, Prince cover bands and dance artists. Even the national symphony orchestra KORK is represented. This is more than just a Prince tribute album. This is actually EVERYTHING the Norwegian musical scene has to offer 2008. All is made with love to the world's greatest artist ever, Prince. The 5 CD-compilation is one time offer, 5000 copies limited edition only."

Genghis Tron has announced the details of a five-volume "Board Up The House" remix series.

Beginning in August and continuing through the rest of 2008, Genghis Tron will be releasing five 12" remix records on five different record labels (Temporary Residence Ltd., Lovepump United, Relapse Records, Anticon Records, and Crucial Blast Records respectively). Each volume will be limited to 1,000, pressed on colored vinyl. "Board Up The House" cover artist, Jon Beasley, will also be providing each remix album with alternative artwork.

Each record will feature a select number of Genghis Tron songs taken from "Board Up The House," remixed by a variety of artists. Some of the participating artists include Black Moth Super Rainbow, Ulver, Dntel, Telefon Tel Aviv, Steve Moore, Jesu/Justin Broadrick, Danny Lohner, Rob Crow, Subtle, Odd Nosdam, Circle, Tim Hecker, and many more to be announced soon.

Genghis Tron commented on the series: "We are very excited to announce a series of special Genghis Tron releases which we've been scheming for quite some time now. Those who have been following us for a while know that we've always been interested in remixes, but to date we've only released a few GT remixes on a few tour-only CDs. We've wanted to do something grander and more 'official' for a long time, so we're proud to say that we've finally assembled a very massive, very official remix project. We reached out to lots of musicians who we admire and overall we've been completely overwhelmed at their willingness to participate in this massive, awesome project. More importantly, the remixes are sounding pretty mind-blowing so far...we're excited to share them with you."

Each release will be available for pre-order for roughly a month prior to its release. Temporary Residence Limited is slated to release volume one of the series in September, with pre-order beginning in July. Further information, including preview tracks, artwork, pre-order options, and more will be announced over the coming months.

Pitchfork recently conducted an interview with ULVER mainman Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Pitchfork: You're still occasionally associated with black metal, though your sound's been shifting incrementally, and now significantly, since 1992. Does the association bug you?

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: It bugged me more before, around 2000. At that point where we were very set on drawing sharp lines and distinguishing between things, people, places. I also believed there was such a thing as new beginnings. But history haunts us and there's nothing you can do. I accept that, even though I still find it curious, of course, that two out of 15 releases are regarded, or included to such an extent. But hell, I guess it means you're are pretty lucky when you have fans who love both your first and your last effort spanning fifteen years. That's pretty rare, especially considering the inconsistent nature of our body of work. I also realize that if it hadn't been for our initial "success" as a black metal band, there's a good chance nobody would know we exist. Or care. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'd prefer.

Pitchfork: I'm interested in how you progressed from your early days to your current sound. What sort of aesthetic did you pull from for "Shadows of the Sun"? Chamber music, but what else? What contemporary metal and non-metal groups do you enjoy? I hear church music — even the BEACH BOYS. I hear you studied classical composers for it. How did you decide to use electronics/piano, et al? Of course, there are still moments of dissonance and feedback, but you largely break from standard "rock" instruments. There's this general soft white noise sounds filtering throughout — and horns.

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: There's no specific aesthetic other than a sense of the beautiful itself, I suppose. There's a connection to classical composition, that's pretty obvious. Some Wagner transpositions. Some Schumann warped beyond recognition etc. in there. "Funebre" is largely based on one single bar off Wagner and we have that little Chopin signature thrown in there as well. So yeah, even though we use fewer notes, the classical stamp is all over the record. BEACH BOYS? It's probably the vocal thing, that I am so fond of clean-sung, layered, well-produced vocals and harmonies. That's another rarity these days. I wonder, where did all the sunshine pop go?

Pitchfork: Where do you see ULVER headed next?

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: First, I am going to take some time off the whole music thing, and then we'll see. There's some original motion picture soundtrack work in negotiation. And I always wanted to make a cover album consisting of obscure psychedelic music from the 1960s — all re-shaped and customized, ULVER style.

"Many of you have been waiting for sound, and we are sorry for the silence. We needed to be alone, without the hustle and bustle of the living. We are uncomfortable with the world, the industry and our place. We have been working, sluggishly, well aware we could end up with nothing. Nonetheless we believe we have succeeded in giving our fears some kind of form. SHADOWS OF THE SUN, our 7th full-length album, is finished and will be released October 1st. We feel it is our most personal record to date. Low-key, dark, and tragic. As we are."

For details on the upcoming release and recording process, an extensive interviews was recently featured in < a href="http://www.ztmag.com/">Zero Tolerance Magazine, out 07/07/07, and is available in shops throughout the UK, a lot of mainland Europe, the US, Australia and NZ.

Andy Winter, piano player and main songwriter, comments: “These guys were selected by the four of us based on our deep admiration for their talents, and we are both honored and grateful that they chose (and found in time in their busy schedules) to participate in enhancing our new record with their presence.” WINDS is currently working on completing the remaining recording sessions for their fourth record, the follow-up to the well-received 2004 offering The Imaginary Direction Of Time. The upcoming album will be mixed and completed during late summer or early fall of 2006. The album will be released on THE END RECORDS sometime before the end of the year.

HEAD CONTROL SYSTEM have officially inked a deal with The End Records. The heavy groove/rock/metal act – comprised of Daniel Cardoso (ex-SIRIUS, RE:AKTOR) and Kristoffer Garm Rygg (ULVER, BORKNAGAR) – will serve up their infectious debut for The End Records entitled Murder Nature on April 4, 2006.

The End Records have posted a new track from ULVER, entitled ‘Christmas’. The track is available for download here.

Ulver’s new album, Blood Inside, is out through The End Records in the US on July 12th. The release will include the following tracklisting: ‘Dressed In Black’, ‘For the Love of God’, ‘Christmas’, ‘Blinded by Blood’, ‘It Is Not Sound’, ‘The Truth’, ‘In the Red’, ‘Your Call’ and ‘Operator’.

The End Records have also posted Ulver’s video for the track ‘It Is Not Sound’. Check it out here.